As the cold weather begins to creep in, I find myself daydreaming of a sunny beach somewhere on a remote island, sipping fruity drinks and napping in the warmth of the mid-afternoon sun. I act like I want to be somewhere warm for the holidays, but the truth of the matter is, the one year my family and I spent Christmas with relatives in Florida, I did not like warm weather on Christmas Day! In 1999, my family decided we would be ringing in the new millennium on a Carnival cruise ship. This trip was met by much resistance from my end. I didn’t want to spend Christmas in Clearwater, Florida – warm temperatures and palm trees do not translate to Christmas for me. Plus, I wanted to open presents under my own tree on Christmas morning. I like our Christmas morning routine, and I didn’t want the routine disturbed. Not to mention, at 16, I wanted to spend New Year’s Eve, especially that one, with my friends. And I didn’t really buy any of the hype that the world was ending, but if it did, I didn’t want to be stuck on a cruise ship in the middle of the ocean! We have a pretty small family, all in the same general area, so this was my first time really traveling for the holidays. I was not looking forward to the traffic, crowds, lines, etc., etc., etc. In my mind, there were no positives in the situation. But, guess what, I had a great time! Once I got over the warm weather on Christmas Day, which I didn’t love, I was able to have fun, especially on the cruise, which was a ton of fun. My family jokes that they didn’t see me the whole trip. I did spend the Millennium with friends – my new cruise ship friends. And spending that week between Christmas and New Year’s hopping from the Grand Cayman to Cozumel, Mexico, back to New Orleans and Tampa, wasn’t so bad after all! So, as long as I have cold weather on Christmas (it doesn’t feel right otherwise!), I’ll take the warm weather, beaches and poolside lounging the rest of the time! I won’t be convinced otherwise – it’s gotta be cold on Christmas Day! -Kimberly Krol, eFlyer editor, circulation and public relations executive